Applying a solution-focused approach to support a worker who is under stress

The solution-focused approach (SFA) developed by Insoo Kim Berg and Steve de Shazer at the Brief Family Therapy Center, Milwaukee, USA is classified as brief psychotherapy. We believe that SFA can give an occupational healthcare staff useful tools that will positively influence their relationships with workers, because it focuses on workers' strengths rather than their weaknesses when the staff interviews them using SFA. In this report, we explain the case of a worker who was under stress and was interviewed using SFA. Although the worker came to the interview because of his physical symptoms, he disclosed that he was under considerable stress at work and that his main concern was his relationship with his superior. One of the authors interviewed him using SFA. In the interview the worker discovered his own resources and strengths, and finally defined his goal. In the end, he discovered solutions by himself, and has been doing well in follow-up. We describe this process in detail, and discuss potential applications of SFA in occupational medicine.